Kent Fiske
20th Century American Modern Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
People Also Browsed
Vintage 1910s American Art Nouveau Table Lamps
Bronze
18th Century Portrait Paintings
Oil
Antique Late 18th Century English Georgian Bookcases
Mahogany
Early 20th Century Impressionist Nude Paintings
Oil, Canvas
Antique 1880s Spanish Rococo Paintings
Canvas, Giltwood
Antique 19th Century Irish Armchairs
Upholstery, Yew
1970s Abstract Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Wood
Vintage 1970s French Space Age Architectural Elements
Metal, Aluminum
Antique 19th Century Italian Desks and Writing Tables
Mahogany
19th Century Figurative Prints
Lithograph
Antique Late 19th Century French Napoleon III Jewelry Boxes
Bronze, Enamel, Ormolu
Antique Early 19th Century French Renaissance Vases
Agate, Gold, Enamel, Silver
1780s Old Masters Portrait Paintings
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Nude Paintings
Oil, Canvas
19th Century Hudson River School Landscape Paintings
Oil
Early 20th Century Academic Nude Paintings
Oil, Canvas
Recent Sales
Vintage 1980s American Modern Vases
Glass
A Close Look at modern Art
The first decades of the 20th century were a period of artistic upheaval, with modern art movements including Cubism, Surrealism, Futurism and Dadaism questioning centuries of traditional views of what art should be. Using abstraction, experimental forms and interdisciplinary techniques, painters, sculptors, photographers, printmakers and performance artists all pushed the boundaries of creative expression.
Major exhibitions, like the 1913 Armory Show in New York City — also known as the “International Exhibition of Modern Art,” in which works like the radically angular Nude Descending a Staircase by Marcel Duchamp caused a sensation — challenged the perspective of viewers and critics and heralded the arrival of modern art in the United States. But the movement’s revolutionary spirit took shape in the 19th century.
The Industrial Revolution, which ushered in new technology and cultural conditions across the world, transformed art from something mostly commissioned by the wealthy or the church to work that responded to personal experiences. The Impressionist style emerged in 1860s France with artists like Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne and Edgar Degas quickly painting works that captured moments of light and urban life. Around the same time in England, the Pre-Raphaelites, like Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, borrowed from late medieval and early Renaissance art to imbue their art with symbolism and modern ideas of beauty.
Emerging from this disruption of the artistic status quo, modern art went further in rejecting conventions and embracing innovation. The bold legacy of leading modern artists Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Piet Mondrian and many others continues to inform visual culture today.
Find a collection of modern paintings, sculptures, prints and other fine art on 1stDibs.
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